Merseyside’s Police Commissioner, Emily Spurrell, has relaunched the region’s Modern Slavery Network to redouble efforts to tackle the issue of slavery and trafficking and improve the support provided to victims.
Modern slavery is real and it’s happening in our Merseyside neighbourhoods. It is estimated that 100,000 people living in the UK are in modern slavery.
That's why Merseyside's Police Commissioner has relaunched the Network, bringing partners and agencies together to focus on combatting Modern Slavery and putting effective interventions in place to protect potential victims across the region.
Led by Deputy Police Commissioner, Cllr Jeanie Bell, the Network has been brought together to provide their insight and expertise on the issue of modern-day slavery, with a focus on identifying emerging themes to help prevent more people falling prey to the criminal gangs who seek to enslave the vulnerable.
The group will unite with other local and national strategic networks, including the National Networks Co-ordinators Forum (NNCF), the Liverpool City Region Vulnerable persons group and the Liverpool City Region Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), to better understand and prevent the issue and safeguard victims.
The Network has also focused their efforts on producing a region-wide strategy which launched in January 2024, focused on raising awareness and educating the public on the tell-tale warning signs of Modern Slavery, improving the response from police and other authorities, and supporting victims and survivors.
This has been supported by a public campaign focused on encouraging the public to report any concerns they have about slavery happening in their communities.
The re-launch of the Network is part of the PCC’s priority to Support Victims and Build Safer Communities and is part of her work to deliver on her Violence against Women and Girls Delivery Plan.Find out more about Modern Slavery, how to spot the signs and what to do if you have any concerns.
Modern Slavery in the supply chain
As public bodies, the PCC and Merseyside Police are committed to working in partnership with our suppliers to ensure that there is no Modern Slavery or Human Trafficking in the supply chain.
We also encourage our suppliers to achieve high ethical standards and practices including fair and right working conditions across the supply chain.
Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires any commercial organisation that is a body corporate or partnership, carries on a business or part of a business in the UK, supplies goods or services and has an annual turnover of £36m or more to publish a slavery and human trafficking statement.
More guidance for businesses on Slavery and Human Trafficking in the supply chain.